As refugees are welcomed into neighboring Middle East countries Democrat senators want to make sure abortion in available funded by US taxpayers. Senator Richard Blumenthal drafted a letter to President Obama signed by 27 of his Democrat colleagues asking that the longstanding Helms amendment be gutted. Current law prohibits any US foreign aid be used […]
Pope Francis’s Wednesday General Audience, on October 21, focused on the promise of love and fidelity made between husbands and wives. The resulting fidelity in turn sets the couple and their family free. A couple’s fidelity to their promise to love is a blessing for the whole world because “no other school can teach the […]
The Saints in Heaven are living witnesses and members of the Church.
In 2011, Yale sociologist Rene Almeling published Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm, a fascinating book that details how sperm and egg banks do business. Of particular interest are the different ways potential sperm and egg donors are marketed to during the recruitment process. Egg donors are told they are “an angel” […]
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, […]
Parenting can be daunting, but it becomes more complicated for a wheelchair user. But it can be done with great success. No obstacle is insurmountable with innovative thinking. And there are many agencies in most communities to teach techniques for parenting to wheelchair users. My children were seven and five years old when I was […]
I once heard a story about a missionary who was working in an impoverished area where fathers were not a part of the everyday lives of the children. When she taught them the “Our Father,” they couldn’t understand what the love of a father was like. So, with the best of intentions, she taught them […]
29 year old Brittany Maynard made headlines last year for announcing her decision to end her life with doctor-prescribed suicide after being diagnosed with brain cancer. A Californian, she was, in her own words, “forced” to move to Oregon to exercise her “right to die” because of California’s ban on assisted suicide. At the time, […]
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Blind Man Speaks Up There were hundreds in the crowd that day at Jericho. No doubt all of them had needs, many of them urgent. But this Sunday’s gospel tells us that apparently only one of them had the audacity to speak up and ask for help from the […]
Among the many posts and articles on the canonization of St. John Paul II last year, there were few comments about his efforts to effect a rapprochement between the Church and science (notice the upper case and lack thereof). The term “rapprochement” has been chosen with care: “an establishment or resumption of harmonious relations” (Oxford English […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading Jeremiah 31:7-9 2nd Reading: Hebrews 5:1-6 Responsorial: Psalm 126:1-6 Gospel: Mark 10:46-52 Saying Yes to Jesus’ Call Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you. (Mark 10:49) Today’s readings all involve a call from God. In the first reading, the Lord makes a […]
My mind has been calmed by, among other things, a bookmark and a simple prayer. I’m writing these thoughts late in the evening Thursday, October 15. For the Catholic Church, this has been the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila. Among those in the Discalced Carmelite order – be they priests/friars, nuns or lay […]
From individuals, to families, to the general population at-large, marriage is essential to society. A committed marriage provides the best arrangement for the well-being of both spouses and children. Marriage provides a more stable environment for personal growth and development than any other living arrangement. Yet many families in today’s culture are rent apart by […]
Beth stared out the hospital blinds as the sunrise crept through. The beauty of it did not register with her as her thoughts raced, wondering how her husband was doing, and how long it would be until things were back to normal. Finally, the doctor came in. “Please step out into the hallway with me,” […]
The wound comes from well-meaning people. “Well, it wasn’t that far along.” “You can always have another child.” “Lots of people go through this.” Miscarriage is a tragedy that so many people misunderstand. They are not quite sure how to console a friend or relative who has suffered this loss. While there are no magic […]
This past February, my husband and I started planning the family trip to Las Vegas that will commemorate our 20-year wedding anniversary in two years. We spent a week in Sin City for our honeymoon, and think it’s only fitting that we return two decades later with our kids, having “beaten the odds” when it […]
Key to seeing the Holy Father’s message this week is reading again the opening passage of Matthew 18, read in St. Peter’s Square before the general audience. Distracted by the question of “greatness before God,” the apostles ask Jesus who would be the greatest. Jesus answers the question in a kind of rebuke, saying that […]
Isn’t this number newsworthy?
It was time to make their move. Usually it was Peter who took the initiative, but now it was their turn. They cleared their throats and asked the master for the best seats in the house, the places of honor right next to the throne. Of course, in this conversation, recounted in Sunday’s gospel, John […]
Why do we fear coming to God? Why does turning to God come only once we have no where else to turn in our trials? Rather than God being first, we turn instead to friends, family, spouses, culture, society, and only when other sources are exhausted do we turn to Christ in prayer. Obviously, these […]
The UN population division agrees with Pope Francis. More contraception will not stop climate change. Abortion and contraception must be widely available to prevent a climate change Armageddon according to some scientists. But these views are not gaining traction at UN headquarters, and were rejected in Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ much-publicized encyclical on “care for […]
The Hail Mary is such a beautiful prayer in honor of our Blessed Mother, one every Catholic knows. Sarah Reinhard, a convert to the faith, describes the Hail Mary as her “blankie prayer . . . Just as my children cling to their worn-soft, faded blankies, so I cling to my Blessed Mother’s skirt through […]
There is a dangerous philosophy emerging in our fast-paced, technology-driven world of which most people are totally unaware. And yet, when Francis Fukuyama, economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, was asked what idea posed the “greatest threat to the welfare of humanity,” his answer was this philosophy. And yet I am […]
Christianity and football came together on Nov. 8, 1974 in Birmingham, Alabama. The two-time defending state champion Banks high school Jets played against their rivals, the Woodlawn Colonels before a record-breaking crowd of 42,000. It is fitting that the game that broke attendance records also became a symbol of the power of Jesus Christ. It […]
